A tense stand-off has developed between two the rival MCA factions, who are reluctant to make the first move and submit their respective agendas for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM).

Both factions are bent on ignoring the deadline, set by secretary-general Wong Foon Meng, to submit the documents to the party headquarters in order for their agendas to be consolidated.

ong tee keat meeting penang 300809 01 The move was to ensure only one EGM is held in order not to strain resources. The deadline expires today.

Chinese-daily China Press, citing sources close to party president Ong Tee Keat, said the president can ignore the deadline and use his presidential powers to submit the documents at any time.

The report also claims that Ong was holding out because he wanted to evaluate his opponent's agenda first and also to identify opponents amongst the 45-member central committee.

Chua camp open to discussions

Meanwhile, the supporters of sacked deputy president Dr Chua Soi Lek confirmed that they would not submit the documents as requested by Wong.

chua soi lek 020108 A key figure behind the pro-Chua EGM, Tan Chai Ho, told Malaysiakini last night that the agenda for the meeting would be announced at a later date.

Tan said the coordinating committee is open to discussions with Ong's camp to consolidate the different agendas to ensure that only one EGM is held.

"This shows that we are sincere in solving the problem. However, we don't know what their agenda is. How can we consolidate the two?" he said.

Another pro-Chua figure, Loh Seng Kok, said: "For now, we will not move our troops. Let's look at Ong's first move".

Enough signatures

However, a pro-Chua source said the coordinators have been delayed by central delegates who have yet to return the endorsement letters. Chua's camp need to secure a third of the delegate's signatures, numbering at about 800, to proceed with the EGM.

It is believed that coordinators for this EGM had been instructed to collect the signatures by last night.

Quizzed on the number of endorsements received thus far, Tan reiterated Chua's assertions that the necessary 800 signatures had been obtained.

Despite having the numbers, Tan said the coordinators will still be collecting more signatures.

"Up until now, I'm still getting calls from central delegates requesting for letters," he said.

Additional reporting by Lee Way Loon and Kuek Ser Kuang Keng